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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26183815">Fear of the Heavens</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomesickAlien/pseuds/HomesickAlien'>HomesickAlien</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Quest XI</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, nonexistent cetacea tag here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:13:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>876</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26183815</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomesickAlien/pseuds/HomesickAlien</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn’t the flute’s intended use, but he wants to learn how to play more songs with it. The first had felt more like Yggdrasil’s guidance, the blessing to call upon Cetacea at will, even if by the strangest method possible… But as for anything else, he’s not really musically inclined.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Fear of the Heavens</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>a relaxing self-indulgent fic</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There’s a strange comfort in this, soaring through the sky, he can’t explain well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe, it’s the way the wind rushes through his hair, or the lightheaded feeling of being so high up. He’d like to reach an even higher place, to touch the stars in the evening, or run his hand through the clouds in the afternoon. Maybe, it’s just the proximity to Yggdrasil who’s roots run through his veins that brings him peace. He’s always flying just close enough to feel a pulse, but not yet to embrace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where one chapter of the Hero’s journey closes, another begins. As of yet, he hasn’t found the words to face her, so still it remains, but someday… There must be something more for him to offer to Her still. He doesn’t know the meaning of it, yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What a Hero feels for a Goddess is unique. With his palm over the sun, the radiant heartbeat of the luminary still flows within him, just as beautiful as the mark of the pendant round his neck. It feels everything has been written before he’d had a chance to argue with it, but now he’s got to write his own stories. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s not creative enough for that, so he walks in the footsteps made bigger than his own. In the sky, there isn’t anything of the sort to follow, and no one to follow him. The flute is still his alone to do with as he pleases. The vastness of the world as it spins around the sun is as open as the sea reflected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the original intended use, but he wants to learn how to play more sounds with it. The first song felt more like Yggdrasil’s guidance, the blessing to call upon Cetacea at will, even if by the strangest method possible… It had brought a smile to his face in a time of misfortune. But as for anything else, he’s not really musically inclined. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the last few months, his head’s been spinning with her. Cetacea, who would spin around in the sky whenever he’d played an off-key note. When they were flying as a group, the Hero were the only one unbothered by it, but after so many times in a row he’s not sure how he’d still managed to stand straight. It’s motivating, he determines himself when he stands upon her head, holding the flute close to his face, taking the time to close his eyes and imagine the sounds he wants to hear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sounds that speak to the heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sounds that beckon Yggdrasil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Floating carelessly through the sky, he listens to the whispers of the wind, and lets them be his guidance. Whatever sounds his heart wills… Whatever it is…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uuaaaagh!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hero falls on his back, as the whale twirls elegantly through the clear skies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t even started playing yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She makes an unintelligible noise. Perhaps, a harsh criticism of his own selfdoubt that leaves him at a standstill. Stagnant. Waiting for the next great fate to tell him which way to go. Even now, he doesn’t guide her at all, just flies wherever Cetacea takes them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just getting ready, don’t be so impatient.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He brushes off his clothes of nothing, standing back up. He takes a look down to see about where they’re at in the sky, it’s somewhere close to home. The one he was born in, not the one he was raised, but still one that feels like home the more he visits. They’re both places struck by ruin, because of him, although it doesn’t eat away at him as much these days. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyday, he puts in the effort to see Dundrasil return to it’s past beauty, even if it’s only a place for two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A song for himself, a song for Yggdrasil… If he could play something to bring his parents peace, to let them know he’s well, he’d like to do so as well. There are many people he can conceive a special sound for, the distinct souls of all his friends are loudly resounding within him. They’re always together, even in distance… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s hard to sit still when the thought comes to him. It’s still rough, just like him, but the sound is there. His heart is in it, and Cetacea passes no judgements this time. It’s difficult to start, and just as much to stop, when the late sun begins to dip into the ocean, he loses track of time completely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s impossible for him to share in the moment with anyone but Cetacea, but it’s a bliss he’s happy to indulge her in. It can only last in this moment, before the box of secrets closes. There’s sure to be many more like it, but none exactly the same, just like a live performance. For every listener, the song sounds just a bit different.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’ll keep practicing in the morning, that’s his promise to Cetacea before hunting for a place to land. Until it sounds right to him, and he can play it without any shame. <br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A song he can meet all of them with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A song he can return to Yggdrasil with.</span>
</p><p>This is the only path he’s laid out for himself, after all. All beginning with destiny. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks, be safe.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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